WSU FoundationThe W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University today announced an Institute for the Study of Economic Growth with the support of a $3.64 million grant from the Charles Koch Foundation. The institute will play a transformative role in exploring innovative and entrepreneurial activities in enhancing societal prosperity.
The institute will help cultivate the exchange of ideas, as well as scientific research, about economic solutions to business and social issues.
Through the institute, students will be exposed to a range of thought and discussion about the systems that are most beneficial to society. The Institute for the Study of Economic Growth will ignite research and academic conversation that leads to economic growth and well-being.
Barton School Dean Anand Desai said: “Our students will be the greatest beneficiaries of this grant. The institute will help us attract and retain outstanding faculty and increase the value of business and economics education at Wichita State.
“This institute’s purpose,” Desai said, “aligns with the Barton School’s mission to advance the knowledge and practice of business, and to support economic growth through research, outreach and knowledge transfer. Our goal is to provide to the region a talent pool that is well versed in the economics of value creation, growth and economic well-being. We are grateful to the Charles Koch Foundation for their support of our mission.”
The institute will initially be housed in Clinton Hall, home of the Barton School of Business until a new home for the Barton School on the Innovation Campus is completed, at which time the institute will have dedicated space to house its staff and activities.
The gift from the Charles Koch Foundation is part of the WSU Foundation’s $250 Million “Shock the World Campaign” and is an important component of its focus on the people of Wichita State University — students and faculty.
“We’re so pleased for this support, which will help grow our efforts to enhance societal prosperity through economic growth, while also expanding teaching and research – a direct benefit to our students,” says WSU President John Bardo.
The school will formally establish the institute following the meeting of the Council of Chief Academic Officers of the Kansas Board of Regents Sept. 20.
“The scholars at Wichita State have set forward a bold vision to tackle critical questions about growing inequality, and we’re thankful for the opportunity to support them,” said Charles Koch Foundation Director of University Relations John Hardin.